Defense and Offense
Tia's eyes shone brightly as energy poured through her body to her slender fingers, etching and morphing new symbols into the shiny silver ring with the single pearl embedded into its frame.
'Infuse linked with solidify and empowered deflect.'
The final runes flared up to life, the magic energy spreading through the exotic alloy mixed with the wyvern blood as the orange pearl charged up the enchantment.
'Your name is the ring of defense.'
Ding!
//
Name: Ring of Defense
Type: Self-fueled Enchanted Ring
Difficulty: With your current tools and power? A routine work. | [+3 points]
Creation Speed: You took a nap while crafting it... | [+0 points]
Mana control improvement factor: x 0.95 general, x 0.96 fire | [+10 points]
Spell-magnification factor: x 1.25 general, x 1.50 fire, x 1.10 blood | [+10 points]
Special features:
Solidify Imbuement E | [+10 points]
Empowered Deflect Imbuement E+ | [+15 points]
Bonus:
You have slain the beast by yourself and avoided foreign mana contamination: +15% to the power of all enchants and effects. [+15 points]
Calculating total points, please wait...
//
'Not bad.' Tia smiled while waiting for the final result of her creation—the ring she named the ring of defense, allowing her to turn her telekinetic powers into solid deflecting barriers in the blink of an eye without the need to cast any spells.
Ding!
//
Total points: 63
Your reward: +1 WP; +2 MAG
Skill progress: [Apprentice Artificing] 98% -> [Journeyman Artificing] 4%
//
A huge grin formed on the face of the young girl, her body shaking with anticipation.
Ding!
//
You have advanced your craft through sheer dedication, hard work, and love of your magic arts.
Additional knowledge and experience will be uploaded to the host.
+3 to INT; +1 to all physical stats; +5 to MAG; +2 to ENE
//
A sharp, piercing pain stabbed through Tia's mind, searing every nerve with an intensity that brought her to her knees and turned her grin into a painful grimace. It felt as if a swarm of ravenous ants had been unleashed within her skull, each bite unleashing waves of excruciating agony.
Knowledge and experiences, both old and new, flooded her consciousness with an unyielding force. It was an inundation of information and a storm of techniques that threatened to drown her.
As quickly as the pain surged, it receded, leaving in its wake a burning anger that ignited her from within. She stomped her feet, the power within her sending kinetic waves that made the entire room rattle. Instruments trembled, and the bright lights flickered under the tempest of her fury.
'This is a scam.' The system had not bestowed new knowledge but merely unveiled what was already hers—memories and skills from her past life.
A sudden beep cut through her tumultuous emotions. A message flashed before her eyes.
Beep!
<<<<>>>>
<Reward > You have been rewarded with 1 EP for recognizing the malfunctioning scam software.
<<<<>>>>
Tia stood amidst the stillness, the echo of the beep resounding in the silence of the room. The anger retreated, with a calm, cold rationality taking its place.
'N-no, there is no need to get angry. I should be happy with what you gave me and that I got a second chance...' She steadied her breath and the storm within quelled. She even felt petty for her outburst.
The knowledge, though not new, had unveiled paths she had lost and, with it, an arsenal of potential and power.
'Runic enchanting is only the base... I can apply more forms on top of it. I can potentially add a smaller power source...' She quickly stopped her mind from going astray, knowing she hadn't even finished the runic enchantments and lacked materials for anything more.
'Alright, witch system, teach me the Pierce rune.'
Ding!
//
You have spent 2 WP to master the novice-tier rune: Pierce
[Novice Runic Spellcraft] 60% -> 65%
//
Not taking any breaks, she grabbed the second unenchanted ring and poured her mana into it.
'Infuse linked with sharp, pierce, and solidify.'
She could feel how malleable it was with nothing hindering her mana flowing through it, greatly increasing the accuracy of the runes.
'The hunt was worth it.' Tia mused to herself as the four new runes flared to live around the second ring.
'Your name will be the ring of defense.'
Ding!
//
Name: Ring of Offense
Type: Self-fueled Enchanted Ring
Difficulty: With your current tools and power? A routine work. | [+5 points]
Creation Speed: Work faster! | [+0 points]
Mana control improvement factor: x 0.94 general, x 0.97 fire | [+10 points]
Spell-magnification factor: x 1.26 general, x 1.50 fire, x 1.10 blood | [+10 points]
Special features:
Solidify Imbuement E | [+10 points]
Sharp Imbuement E | [+10 points]
Pierce Imbuement E | [+10 points]
Bonus:
You have slain the beast by yourself and avoided foreign mana contamination: +15% to the power of all enchants and effects. [+15 points]
Calculating total points, please wait...
//
Ding!
//
Total points: 65
Your reward: +1 WP; +2 ENE
Skill progress: [Journeyman Artificing] 4% -> [Journeyman Artificing] 8%
//
'With you two, I have the ability to instantly summon my offensive and defensive spells.'
Seeing her two latest creations, the two simple silvery rings with small round gemstones embedded within them, side by side, she couldn't help but feel pride and joy swell within her.
'Even though destruction has something to it, creation is still more satisfying.'
She picked them up, feeling their weight and the cool touch of the metal against her skin, contrasting with the warmth of magic and fire elements contained in them.
The third ring and a plain silver mask with a gem embedded into the forehead—still unfinished and undecorated—remained resting on the table.
Yet Tia shook her head, her lengthy hair flowing in a wave. Even though she wanted to just splurge her witch points, she suppressed the desire: 'It is one thing to pay for one simple rune than to pay for at least four not-so-simple ones.'
Her plan for the empty frames had to wait.
Her gaze moved to her own hand as she studied the glove, perplexed yet fascinated. Under the bright workshop lights, it's black scales and dark metal gleamed.
It was sleek and light, the metal covering only her palm, the back of her hand, and her fingertips. Hardened leather straps connected the dark metal pieces, ensuring flexibility and the freedom to wear rings comfortably.
A large, radiant gemstone was embedded into the plate that was protecting the back of her hand; its brightness a stark contrast to the glove's dark elements.
Golden ornaments adorned the dark backdrop of the glove, adding a touch of elegance without serving any functional purpose. Despite their lack of utility, she admired their aesthetic contribution.
'Phhh, this is prospestrous. To think that I could so easily create such a masterful design with modern software and machinery.' She still couldn't help but marvel at the creation of science and precise engineering.
She held her hand up, the light catching the intricate designs, and wondered aloud, "What to do with you?"
The glove was a piece of art and an empty frame, just waiting to be enchanted.